Johnson County developer, former councilwoman sue Kansas GOP over campaign flyer
Shawnee developer Kevin Tubbesing and his wife, former city councilwoman Dawn Tubbesing, are suing the Kansas Republican Party, saying that campaign flyers in a state Senate race last year accused them of cronyism and corruption.
The lawsuit, filed last month in Johnson County District Court, accused the Kansas GOP of “false light” invasion of privacy. A spokesman for the Kansas GOP called the lawsuit “frivolous.”
The flyers in question, which circulated in Johnson County last year, involve two separate $250 campaign contributions that Dawn Tubbesing made to Democrat Lindsey Constance, who ran unsuccessfully against Republican Mike Thompson. Thompson had earlier been appointed to fill the Kansas Senate seat left open by the retirement of Mary Pilcher-Cook.
The flyer suggests that the donations were connected to a development proposal by Kevin Tubbesing to build an apartment complex in Shawnee. The plan sought incentives from the Shawnee City Council, where Constance is a Ward 4 council member.
The flyer, titled “Lindsey Constance is writing love letters to special interests,” said Constance received a $250 contribution from Dawn Tubbesing in October 2019.
The council in December voted 6-2 to approve a $3.1 million tax incentive package for the luxury apartment complex, off Nieman Road and Johnson Drive. Constance was among those who voted in favor of it.
Dawn Tubbesing sent another contribution to Constance four months after the vote, the flyer said.
Kansas campaign finance regulations limit to $1,000 the maximum contribution an individual can make to a state Senate race before a primary election. An individual could give another $1,000 between the primary and general election.
Taken together, the Tubbesings claim, is a message that paints them as cronies who were part of a quid pro quo scheme.
“I could not believe when I saw my name on a political mailer targeting Lindsey. I was horrified and crushed when I read the attacks by my own party suggesting that my husband and I had been part of something terrible and dishonest,” Dawn Tubbesing said in a statement. “Standing by while they callously smear our reputation, just to score votes, would only reward their actions and provide them the encouragement to do so again.”
C.J. Grover, a spokesman for the Kansas GOP, said the party will prevail in the lawsuit.
“This is a frivolous lawsuit filed by someone who has engaged in business conduct described by a judge as ‘troubling and regrettable,’” Grover said in an email to The Star. “The Kansas Republican Party will prevail in this case because the facts are clear, everything in the mail piece was true, and the law protecting free political speech is on our side.”
The “troubling and regrettable”reference in Grover’s statement comes from an appellate court judge’s dissenting opinion in a 2004 appeal of a land use lawsuit against Shawnee. Kevin Tubbesing was a member of the Shawnee planning commission at the time and did not file a disclosure of interest form.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and attorney fees. The Tubbesings are represented by Daniel Zmijewski, a Leawood attorney.
A claim of false light invasion of privacy is slightly different from defamation. A false light claim in Kansas must falsely represent someone, be highly offensive to a reasonable person and involve the widespread disclosure of private matters.
The lawsuit is the latest in a string of political battles coming out of Shawnee in recent months. City Council members have told The Star that the board has become increasingly divided along partisan lines, and also on the issue of giving tax incentives to private developers.
That division was perhaps most apparent in December, when members were split 4-4 on whom to elect as the new council president. A coin toss determined that Constance would fill the role.
And the arrest of Mayor Michelle Distler late last year also shined new light on the behind-the-scenes politics at play in Shawnee. Distler was charged with felony perjury after filing a Kansas Open Meetings Act complaint against four council members. She filed the complaint under a false identity.
A Johnson County judge has granted Distler diversion in the case, and the charge will be resolved if she completes 150 hours of community service.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 4:03 PM.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story should have said Kevin Tubbesing was the Shawnee planning commission member identified in the 2004 dissenting appeals court opinion.
